Sage-Tips

Did the UK buy the Chagos Islands?

In 1965, Britain bought the Chagos islands for 3 million pounds – $4.1m at the present rate – from Mauritius to form the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). Mauritius sold off the 65-island archipelago so it could gain independence three years later, and has since claimed the islands as its territory.

Will Britain give up the Chagos Islands?

Sabrina Jean says her 70-year-old father Serge’s greatest wish is to return to his home-land, but the UK authorities will not allow it. The Chagos Islands were part of the British colony of Mauritius until 1965, when it was severed to become part of the newly formed British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT).

Why is there a dispute over Chagos Archipelago?

In 2019, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an advisory opinion in which it determined that the decolonisation of Mauritius was not lawfully completed with the separation of the Chagos Archipelago and that the United Kingdom was obliged to end its administration of the islands as rapidly as possible.

Who does Chagos belong to?

The UK retained possession of the Chagos archipelago after Mauritius gained independence in 1968, in effective paying Mauritius more than £4m for the islands.

What happened on the Chagos Islands?

The expulsion of the Chagossians from the Chagos Archipelago was the forced expulsion of all the thousands of inhabitants of the island of Diego Garcia and the other islands of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) by the United Kingdom, at the request of the United States, beginning in 1968 and concluding on 27 …

Who discovered Chagos?

navigator Pedro de Mascarenhas
Portuguese explorers were the first Europeans to discover the archipelago. Although Portuguese navigator Pedro de Mascarenhas (1470 – 23 June 1555) is credited with having discovered the islands during his voyage of 1512–13, there is little corroborative evidence for this; cartographic analysis points to 1532 or later.

Are the Chagos Islands part of Mauritius?

The Chagos Archipelago, although 1,300 miles away from Mauritius in the vast Indian Ocean, was nonetheless recognized as a Mauritius dependency under British colonial rule.

What is the main claim of Mauritius?

The crux of the Mauritian claim is the right of self-determination. In its submission to the court, the Mauritian government claimed that the separation of the islands from Mauritius was in clear breach of UN resolution 1514, also known as the Colonial Declaration.

Where is the Great Chagos archipelago located?

Indian Ocean
Chagos Archipelago, island group in the central Indian Ocean, located about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) south of the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent. It is coterminous with the British Indian Ocean Territory.

How many Chagossians are there?

Currently, they are penniless, poor, and without a home. Numbering some 3000 to 4000 Chagossians, they currently live on the island of Mauritius. There are approximately 500 Chagossian survivors of the more than 1.500 original evictees right now.

What did the ICJ say about the Chagos Islands?

But at the ICJ, Judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf described the UK’s administration of the Chagos Islands as “an unlawful act of continuing character”. In an advisory opinion in February 2019 the ICJ said that the archipelago should be handed over to Mauritius in order to complete its “decolonisation”.

What does the ICJ ruling on Mauritius mean for the UK?

It criticised London for its failure to hand the territory back to Mauritius. The judges’ decision confirms a ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and a vote in the UN General Assembly. The Indian Ocean archipelago includes a US military base.

Will Mauritius get the Chagos back from UK?

The ITLS judges rejected that argument. The UK, which was the former colonial power in Mauritius, has repeatedly promised to hand control of the Chagos archipelago back to Mauritius once the islands are no longer needed for defence purposes.

Does the United Kingdom have sovereignty over the Chagos Islands?

In 2019, the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion stating that the United Kingdom did not have sovereignty over the Chagos Islands and that the administration of the archipelago should be handed over “as rapidly as possible” to Mauritius.